◎Waiting for You◎
The thrill of adult games lay in their impulsiveness.
As her adrenaline surged, Li Xia clearly felt her heart rate quicken, her mouth going dry. She got up to grab some water, gulping it down in big mouthfuls to cool off and clear her head.
Was it reverse psychology or him deliberately casting his net? Li Xia wasn’t sure.
What she did know: F was an expert who welcomed all comers.
But that was fine.
She really did want to get to know F.
Her online banter was real, too.
In the game of risky adventures, a hesitant fishing line was a little fish’s best shot at escape.
Why should she let him hit reset just because he said so?
A mischievous glint sparked in Li Xia’s eyes as she leaned back in her chair and typed: 【The game only gets one round】
F: 【So I missed out, huh?】
Li Xia struck a bureaucratic tone: 【Yes, unfortunately】
F: 【Player requests respawn】
Cute.
Li Xia’s fingers danced effortlessly: 【Game over. Respawning’s pointless】
About half a minute of silence followed.
F: 【What if I said I wasn’t treating it like a game?】
Huh?
Li Xia blinked, reading it twice.
What did he mean by that?
Was he serious about this?
Steeling herself, Li Xia typed: 【Then I’m afraid you’d be disappointed】
Another brief silence from his side.
F: 【Have you played this game with anyone else?】
This time, Li Xia decided to play it straight: 【No】
F: 【Got it】
F: 【Once my return date to the country is set, I’ll let you know】
Li Xia recalled his words: we’d decide when I get back to the country.
It had been a spur-of-the-moment thing for her, with no real expectations. But now, his tone was so earnest, his trust so absolute—it made her seem flighty and casual by comparison.
As if the moment he returned, they’d dive straight into dating for real, whispering sweet nothings.
And this was only their first private chat.
Li Xia asked on purpose: 【So, what exactly are we deciding once you’re back?】
F: 【Whether we should date】
…
A straight shot like that, and Li Xia felt her cheeks heat up.
Since he’d put it that way, Li Xia stopped overthinking the truth or lies of it. She just played it poised and went with the flow.
Where the boat ended up? That depended on her mood.
Li Xia: 【Perfect, that gives you time to think it over】
For some reason, F’s reply carried a hint of helplessness: 【Not sure who needs the time to think more, honestly】
What, her?
Li Xia stared at the chat screen, huffing inwardly.
So this was what chatting with F felt like.
He wasn’t the aloof type she’d imagined. No, he was warm, smooth, reeling her in every time.
Probably from rolling through countless flowers over the years, Li Xia figured—piece of cake for him.
The lunch break alarm blared untimely, reminding her of the afternoon “pitch meeting.” Li Xia slapped her phone screen down, hastily sorting her prepared materials, double-checking the PPT for errors. By the time she’d run through her routine, her colleague was already pinging her on WeChat: “Xia Xia, meeting time.”
Walking to the conference room with her colleague, Li Xia suddenly felt drowsy. “I could really go for a coffee,” she said.
Chu Xiaowen laughed at her. “Skipping your nap at lunch, and now you’re sleepy?”
Li Xia let out a little “Ah!” “Busted?”
Chu Xiaowen: “What were you grinning like an idiot about at lunch? Spill.”
Li Xia’s eyebrows shot up higher than her eyes in mock surprise: “I was grinning?”
Chu Xiaowen whipped out a sneaky photo: “Who’s this, then?”
Better not to look.
But she did—and oh god.
The woman in the photo, with her lips nearly flying off her face in a grin… that was her!
Li Xia prodded her aching cheeks.
No wonder. She’d been typing away, but her face had felt so strained the whole time.
She scrambled an excuse: she’d spent lunch watching hot guys doing aerial hula hoops with insane core strength. Chu Xiaowen burst out laughing.
Before entering the conference room, Li Xia clutched her files, walking and typing one-handed to F: 【Talk later】
–
Today’s pitch meeting didn’t go smoothly.
Li Xia had prepped two topics at once, with heaps of market research and analysis. Nearly all of it got shot down.
The boss wanted balance between profits and social good, but they were the ones getting tortured. No one escaped unscathed—the meeting turned into a total roast session.
Times like these always gave Li Xia that powerless, humble vibe of defending her college thesis. Staring at the boss, she half-wanted to queue up “Can’t Figure You Out” on the spot.
Eight-hour workday, four hours in meetings.
By the end, it was nearly quitting time. Everyone slumped like withered wheat stalks. But the boss couldn’t resist whispering layoff winds in their ears—something about this year’s sales targets not hitting last year’s marks, so step it up or year-end bonuses were at risk.
The room went from silent to graveyard quiet.
【That hanging heart of mine just flatlined.】 Li Xia snuck a message to Chu Xiaowen under the table.
Chu Xiaowen: 【Screw it】
Li Xia: 【Good news: salary stabilized. Bad news: stably poor】
Followed by a “beggar” sticker.
Chu Xiaowen: 【Haha】
Chu Xiaowen: 【Wait for me after work, got something to ask】
Li Xia: 【Sure】
After the meeting broke, Li Xia saw Chu Xiaowen head off to chat with the boss. She returned to her desk alone, using the wait to hash out round three with the layout artist, finally syncing their details.
As she reached for her second snack pack, Chu Xiaowen approached from afar.
Li Xia stood to greet her: “What’s up, Xiaowen Sis?”
Chu Xiaowen took her time explaining: during the meeting, a mid-level manager had messaged about a two-day business trip next week—a training and a book fair. The book she handled needed an in-person demo.
Li Xia could hardly believe it: “You’re pregnant, and they still want you traveling? What if something goes wrong—can they afford that?”
Chu Xiaowen sighed. “No choice. I turned it down, said I have a prenatal checkup.”
“Where to, exactly?”
“Nanlin.”
“So far,” Li Xia muttered a curse under her breath. “What’d the boss say?”
“If I can’t go, he told me to find a replacement. Said our agency’s gotta have someone there for that event.” Chu Xiaowen paused, probing gently. “So I came to you first.”
“Me?” Li Xia pointed at herself.
“Yeah, Xia Xia. Could you help out?”
Chu Xiaowen’s tone was cautious. She was usually straightforward and loyal, but asking a favor made her look helpless—eyes dropping to her belly, vulnerable. Li Xia hated the office’s cold-bloodedness, hated how the male boss couldn’t grasp a pregnant woman’s struggles.
Hated how they knew she was vulnerable and still made her beg others.
Deep down, Li Xia didn’t want to say no.
But in-person book talks? She had zero experience. Unfamiliar turf, someone else’s project. Plus, she glanced at the three towering stacks of manuscripts on her desk, pointing them out to Chu Xiaowen.
“Xiaowen Sis, I’d love to, but I’m swamped. This stack’s for second review, the middle one’s for proofreading, and those just came in.”
After Li Xia finished, she turned back—Chu Xiaowen’s face flickered with a faint bitter smile. She forced cheer: “It’s fine, I know you’re busy. I’ll ask around tomorrow.”
She was always the easiest person in the office to get along with.
Even if she begged till her mouth went dry, odds were no one would take it.
Seeing that tugged at Li Xia’s heart. She advised: “Xiaowen Sis, just hand it off to the boss to assign. Or get the hospital to issue a pregnancy rest note and take a few days off. The baby’s priority.”
“Yeah,” Chu Xiaowen nodded. “I’ll talk to the boss tomorrow.”
Finally, Chu Xiaowen invited her to dinner. “Wanna hit the mall after?”
Li Xia waved it off—bad timing. “Dad’s shop is short-staffed tonight; the helper’s out. Gotta cover.”
“Aw, okay. Little Chef Li’s suiting up?”
“Hahaha. Or come to our place for barbecue?”
“Count me in next time to try your skills.”
Li Xia saluted with two fingers to her temple: “You got it!”
Arm in arm, they left the office building. Chu Xiaowen headed to her Mercedes E-Class, while Li Xia rounded the corner to her Little Yadi.
–
Early summer felt light and airy.
Clothes thin, night air crisp.
Li Xia slipped on her pink helmet, merging into the electric scooter swarm, weaving through city streets.
She rolled over countless rusty manhole covers, dodged speed demons glued to short videos, passed budding green trees straining to grow, parks, dingy apartment blocks, steaming snack alleys.
Racing the evening breeze, her trusty little steed pulled up outside Four Seasons Barbecue.
The shop’s pint-sized delivery kid spotted her stringing skewers outside and waved wildly: “Little Xia Sis!!!”
Li Xia parked, pulled off her helmet, and grinned: “Coming, coming!”
The family lived in the old district. Li Dayong had made a bit from business years back, sunk it into a billiards hall, then opened this barbecue joint at the community gate.
Come early summer, business boomed, cumin and chili scenting the air. Seven or eight years in, young and old neighbors alike were regulars and friends.
“Dad around?”
Li Xia scanned the shop—no sign of Li Dayong.
Up front by the grill stood the new barbecue guy they’d hired recently. Pushing six-foot-something, sleeveless tank showing off arms that drew sneaky pics from female customers.
He didn’t look up or acknowledge her.
Li Xia leaned in with a smile: “Busy as ever, Brother Xin.”
There were only two tables of customers in the shop, and the barbecue chef was hunched over the grill, skewers sizzling away as if he were swamped. Pungent white smoke rose from the glowing coals, laced with the mouthwatering sizzle of oil. Chi Xin tossed on a handful of chili flakes without a care in the world, the spicy kick hitting her nose and making Li Xia sneeze beside him.
Only then did Chi Xin turn to look at her. Li Xia’s slender white neck was wrapped in a sky-blue apron, her long hair pinned up, topped with a goose-yellow checkered headscarf.
He turned his face away. “I got this.”
“Let me.”
Li Xia reluctantly handed over what she was holding. “Thanks for the hard work.”
Chi Xin sidestepped her hand and pointed at the plate, clearly signaling he didn’t need her help and had nothing to say. With a helpless shrug, Li Xia retreated to the counter and started stringing skewers alongside the helper, Xiao Wu.
“He’s been kicking himself ever since,” Xiao Wu said, eyes fixed on Chi Xin’s back. “Last time he deleted your WeChat? Regretted it to his bones.”
Li Xia smiled. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Ever since Bread’s accident, he’s been dying for a chance to console you. But who told him to screw up like that? Botch the confession and then delete your contact—a grown man with such a fragile ego.” Xiao Wu huffed.
Bread was Li Xia’s corgi.
She used to love taking it out for evening walks, often looping around to the barbecue shop. Chi Xin would toss Bread some bones, and Li Xia would snag a few skewers to curb her cravings. Before long, both she and the dog had packed on some pounds.
Those were the old days.
Xiao Wu was right in the middle of recounting it. “But Little Xia Sis… you stopped walking the dog, stopped coming by the shop. Xin Bro’s about to shatter.”
Li Xia replied, “He could always add me back.”
“He wants to, but he’s too proud to show his face!” Xiao Wu sounded anxious, his lips pursed in a pout, voice a little glum. “Besides, the boss said you already have a boyfriend.”
Li Xia suddenly remembered F.
She really had taken advantage of him, intentionally or not, more than a few times.
She’d have to treat him to dinner sometime soon.
Out front, Chi Xin was serving a table, and one of the female customers tilted her head with a beaming smile as she watched him.
“He’s still got that charm,” Li Xia said.
“Can’t blame ’em—he’s our best advertisement.”
Xiao Wu finished stringing a bunch of mushrooms, and Li Xia offered to deliver them. As she came up behind Chi Xin, he was turning around. His eyes met hers, and he froze for a second. Li Xia smoothly took the plate from his hands.
“Table two.”
“Got it.”
Back at the grill, Li Xia kept an eye on the chicken wings, flipping them now and then. After a long stretch of silence, Chi Xin finally spoke up about something other than barbecue.
“Your mood any better lately?” he asked abruptly.
Li Xia turned to him with a smile. “What do you think?”
Chi Xin’s gaze flicked to her face, his hands never slowing.
“Your dad said you cried for days.”
“Not that many—just half a month.” Li Xia shrugged.
“Why cry over it? Pets pass on, but you can always get another. Chin up, stay happy.”
“…”
It had been ages since she’d heard advice so raw and unpolished.
Li Xia felt a lump stuck in her throat, neither up nor down. In the end, she managed a couple of dry chuckles. “Thanks for… the comfort.”
If this was the best he could do, no wonder he hadn’t bothered adding her back. A handsome strong silent type suited him just fine.
That very night, Li Xia realized just how fragile human connections could be.
She and F didn’t even have each other’s WeChat.
A bond as fleeting as morning dew, teetering on the edge.
They stayed busy in the shop until after nine, when Li Dayong shooed her home. Li Xia packed up her things and headed to her bike. The night breeze brushed her cheeks like a gentle kiss, and suddenly her heart was itching with anticipation.
She hadn’t spoken to F all day. Had he messaged?
She’d barely settled onto the seat when she whipped out her phone. Logging into the app was a gamble with the spotty connection, leaving Li Xia to fret impatiently.
About five minutes later.
Success. She was in.
That’s when she saw her lunchtime message—”Talk later”—and F’s immediate reply.
【As promised】
The timestamp showed that at six p.m., he’d followed up: 【Later meaning what time?】
Was he looking forward to it too?
Li Xia’s fingers flew across the screen.
【Now!】
His reply came back almost instantly.
F: 【Just off work?】
Li Xia: 【Yeah】
Li Xia: 【That was fast】
F: 【Yep. Been waiting for you】